Sports: Jose Antonio Rivera victorious in boxing comeback

Thursday

Aug 23, 2018 at 5:02 AMAug 29, 2018 at 8:31 AM

It was a big night, to be sure, at the Palladium in Worcester Friday, Aug. 17 as former threetime, two-division boxing world champ Jose Antonio Rivera made a triumphant return to the ring after a seven-year layoff.

There were some questions surrounding Rivera’s first fight since 2011: Were the reflexes sharp enough at 45 years old? Had he slowed down? There was bound to be ring rust, but how much?

The man known as “El Gallo,” or the rooster, had answers for each of those queries.

“A little rusty, a little slower, but just as tough,” said Rivera, who registered a seventh-round technical knockout over veteran Larry Smith. “Always just as tough.”

His head certainly appeared tough enough. Smith said he broke his hand on Rivera’s head in the fifth round of their scheduled eight-round, middleweight bout. Two rounds later, a little more than a minute in, Smith simply turned away from Rivera, walked toward his corner and took a knee. The referee ended the fight on TKO.

Smith entered the fight at 10-37-1. His previous two losses, however, were unanimous decisions that came to opponents with a combined record of 57-10.

Rivera, now 42-6-1, is just one bout shy of 50 for his career. Next up is expected to be a November fight in Worcester. There has been talk of a possible title shot, but Rivera said he would likely fight one more time before that.

As for his first fight in seven years, Rivera said, “I shook off a lot of rust. I told you [Smith] wasn’t an easy opponent. He was testing me early. Once he saw I was there for the long run, he finally gave in, and that’s the most satisfying win for a fighter. It’s like a chess match, a power of wills going against each other, and eventually someone’s going to win.”

Rivera fought as part of a card called “Homecoming,” which featured several Worcester boxers, some fighting for the first time in their hometown.

The event, co-promoted by Rivera’s own Rivera Promotions Entertainment, which he runs with is son, A.J. Rivera, and Granite Chin Promotions, raised money for spina bifida. A.J. Rivera was born with the condition. He was originally scheduled to make his pro debut the same night as his father’s comeback, but was not medically cleared.

A large and vocal crowd was clearly on Rivera’s side Friday night, and had the backs of other Worcester fighters as well, including Kendrick Ball Jr. and Khiary Gray, both making their Worcester debuts. Both were coming off losses and each scored first-round TKOs in their respective bouts.

Gray, now 16-4, stopped Antonio Chaves Fernandez of Brockton, 9-34, a little over two minutes into the first round of their middleweight clash with a nasty right hook as the crowd started changing his name. Fernandez engaged in a lengthy argument with the referee after the fight.

It was the second straight time Gray beat Fernandez. The last win also came by TKO.

“I was thinking, he was talking a lot, saying he was going to be in better shape and ready for the fight,” Gray said. “I wanted to prove tonight he’s still not ready for me.”

Ball, 10-1-2, dropped Fabian Valdez, 2-4, with a right-hand shot to the body in the first round of their super middleweight fight. Valdez remained on his knees several minutes after taking the hit. Ball had knocked Valdez once previously with a right hook to the face.

Letting out several loud shouts of “This is my town!” Ball climbed the ropes and basked in the cheers of fans after the win.

“It feels great,” he said of the win, “because the biggest concern was how would I feel after [my last] loss. I felt good.”

In other action, undefeated junior middleweight Wilfredo Pagan of Southbridge, 5-0, continued to impress at 38 years old with a third-round TKO of Engelberto Valenzuela, 11-15. Pagan stopped Valenzuela with a solid left uppercut to the chin that dropped him to his knees. The referee, patting Valenzuela on the back, stopped the fight.

Junior lightweight Edwin Rosado of Worcester, 1-8-1, fighting for the first time after a lengthy layoff, came up short against Springfield’s Joshua Orta, making his pro debut. Orta stopped Rosado in the third round by TKO, with Rosado suffering a nasty cut above his eye.

Another Worcester fighter, Eslih Owusu, also made his pro debut as a featherweight. The recent Worcester Technical High School grad scored a unanimous decision over veteran Bryan Abraham, 6-31-2, and looked impressive in doing so.

In the first fight of the night, Springfield’s Jose Angel Ortiz, 5-13-1, won by TKO over Patrick Leal, 0-5, of Somerville.

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